Revealed: Football's highest paid player in 2010

With individual annual earnings higher than many millionaire's entire fortune, this is one group of ten men who definitely aren't struggling.

Overall last year, the Beautiful Game made these players £151.9m. With so much to invest they will be relying on the sound advice of their IFAs. Probably not Sven Goran Eriksson's though. 

No. 1 David Beckham £24.4m

Los Angeles Galaxy

Beckham's endorsement deal with Adidas is the biggest in the sport thanks to royalties from soccer apparel, in addition to his deals with lifestyle lines.

No. 2 Cristiano Ronaldo £23.2m

Real Madrid

Ronaldo is Facebook's most popular athlete with 24 million fans, which is part of the attraction for sponsors like Nike, Armani, Coca-Cola and Castrol.

No. 3 Lionel Messi £19.5m

Barcelona

Messi's status as the world's best player has started to translate into endorsement opportunities. 'The Flea' has deals with Adidas, Lay's, Konami, Audemars Piguet, Chery and AirEuropa.

No. 4 Ricardo Kaka £15.2m

Real Madrid

The Brazilian midi was featured on the cover of EA Sports FIFA Soccer 11. The FIFA franchise has sold 100 million units of the popular soccer game for Electronic Arts.

No. 5 Ronaldinho £14.6m

Flamengo

The two-time FIFA World Player of the Year joined Brazilian club Flamengo in January after two seasons with AC Milan. His new deal runs until 2014.

No. 6 Thierry Henry £12.8m

New York Red Bulls

Henry bought a New York City apartment for $14.9mafter move to MLS last year. His lucrative Gillette partnership wrapped up at the end of 2010.

No. 7 Wayne Rooney £12.2m

Manchester United

Coca-Cola and Rooney recently parted ways, ending a deal that had been worth $1 million annually. Remaining sponsors include Nike and Electronic Arts.

No. 8 (tie) Frank Lampard £10.4m

Chelsea

Lampard earns $11m in salary on the pitch. His 135 career goals are the most ever by a Premier League midfielder.

No. 8 (tie) Zlatan Ibrahimovic £10.4m

AC Milan

Barcelona paid a $94m transfer fee to Inter Milan in 2009 for the rights to Ibrahimovic, which was the second-highest transfer fee ever.

No. 10 Samuel Eto'o £9.2m

Inter Milan

The Cameroonian striker counts Puma and Ford as sponsors. He has won the African Player of the Year award a record four times.

Source: Forbes Lists